Cardinals, the five-piece hailing from Kinsale, have been crowned “the next great guitar band to emerge from Ireland” by Rolling Stone UK and have also won high praise from NME and Stereogum.
Having spent 2025 in excellent company, supporting Fontaines D.C in Finsbury Park, London, Wunderhorse at Wider Than Pictures, Dublin, The Pogues in the US, their own headline US tour, NewDad’s UK / Irish Tour as well as headlining their own European tour, one could say they’ve cut their teeth in all the right places, before even releasing their debut album.
Forged through both family and friendship – brothers Euan (vocals, guitar) and Finn (accordion) Manning, their cousin Darragh (drums, tambourine, glockenspiel) and their former schoolmates Oskar Gudinovic (guitar) and Aaron Hurley (bass) – the five-piece have already positioned themselves at the vanguard of the Irish independent rock scene. And with Masquerade, they have flung off the shackles of their early influences to craft something entirely their own.
With most songs for Masquerade written over the past 24 months, the band recorded in the legendary RAK Studios in London, in between all of the aforementioned commitments.
Crafting a record with an A-side and a B-side is a nod to the band’s collective love of vinyl, and Masquerade’s tonal shift takes its cue from a variety of contrasting influences – from Townes Van Zandt’s “soft and beautiful melodies” to heavier fare like Nine Inch Nails, Danish punks Iceage and goth-metal icons Type O Negative, as well as their previously-noted love of hip-hop.
“For the most part, the B-side is a darker and grittier exploration of the themes than what comes before,” explains Euan.
With themes of religion littered throughout the album, Euan states that “Big social changes that happen when you’re a child do affect you more than you realise”, referencing the secularity of the country after the release of the Murphy Report in 2009.
It’s clear that Masquerade marks a new era for Cardinals. The making of the album has revealed something new of themselves, opening them up as a more collaborative entity – as evidenced by closing track “As I Breathe”, written just one week before they entered the studio. While much of the record’s lyrical content deals with the trials and complexities of navigating
life, the album ends on a tentatively hopeful note with the striking line “Even as we fall / I have learned the world is small / And I proceed.”
CARDINALS ANNOUNCE BIGGEST HEADLINE SHOW TO DATE AFTER SELLING OUT THEIR IRISH SPRING TOUR
FRIDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2026 – THE BUTTON FACTORY, DUBLIN
TICKETS €22.00 INCL BOOKING FEES
ON SALE FRIDAY, 20 MARCH AT 10AM
Available from: Singularartists.ie or Ticketmaster.ie